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 In his time, Leigh Centurions captain Paul
Rowley has seen and done it all. It’s been a rollercoaster career that
has seen him enjoy spells at Halifax and Huddersfield, as well as a run
in the England 2000 Rugby League World Cup Squad. However, Leigh is
where Rowley’s heart truly lies. From growing up as a fan, to playing a
part in their ill-fated 2005 Super League season to leading the
Centurions to victory in this year’s Northern Rail Cup. The LINC caught
up with Rowley to talk about the both the good times, and the not so
good times…
Let’s start with the basics, how did you get into Rugby League?
I was a Leigh spectator from a very young age because my dad used to
play for Leigh, and my interest grew from there.
Then I went on to my local amateur clubs (Leigh Rangers and Leigh
Juniors) as soon as I was old enough to play.
From there, how did you end up at Centurions?
From about 13/14, I went to my first coach at Leigh at the time and I
was invited to come down and train with the first team. I think they
must have spotted something in me, and I ended up training with them for
a few years. As soon as I turned 17 I turned professional and played for
the Academy and what was then the Alliance before joining the first
team.
You were a first team member of Leigh during the early 90s, what was the
atmosphere at the club like back then?
I’d say it was the same as it is now. I mean, every year you either win
or loose, you get different characters and have a good laugh, but the
sole purpose is always winning the league or doing as good as you can.
Everyone’s pulling in the same direction so there’s a good camaraderie
and team spirit.
Was it always your main ambition to play rugby professionally?
Yeah, definitely. I left school and did a plumbing apprenticeship, but I
wasn’t focussed on plumbing because I knew that that wasn’t the
direction in life I was gonna take.
After your first spell at Leigh you moved to Halifax…
Yeah, what happened was, our coach left and went to Halifax and at the
time Leigh was in administration. Me and two other youngsters were
perhaps Centurions’ most ‘prized assets’ at the time, you know, the ones
they could make some money from. So we got sold off and we joined our
coach at Halifax.
It was a good move for us, Halifax were a big club at the time and I
stayed on for seven seasons and made a name for myself.
What was it like at Halifax?
It was very much like Leigh in that it was a ‘family club’ and had very
passionate spectators. We had a lot of success there, finishing third in
the Super League, so I guess we did alright.
You said earlier that you’d been a Leigh man since early childhood, did
you miss the club when you left?
Yeah definitely. It was good though because we’d play Super League on
Friday and Saturdays, which meant I could keep in touch with people down
here and come down on Sunday to watch them play.
During one season I actually trained with Halifax during the day, and
then came and trained at Leigh at night.
Did you find that you fit in well with your new team having left the
home comforts of Centurions?
Yeah. People in this sport are always very welcoming. You soon find the
people you’ll bond with the most, it’s just like starting a new school
or a new job.
In 2000 you were part of the England squad at the Rugby League World
Cup. What was that experience like?
Obviously it’s nice to get some recognition for putting in consistent
performances and stuff. Playing with and against international household
names is definitely a good achievement and something I can look back
proudly on.
I was the only player there from my team so it was a bit daunting
sharing a room with these people from places like Wigan and Saints, but
you meet all these people anyway playing against them on a domestic
level, so it wasn’t really that bad.
Whilst you were at Halifax, both Wigan and St. Helens were said to be
interested in signing you. Did you ever consider either offer?
Yeah. I was supposed to meet the Wigan directors at Birch Services to
sign the deal and go to Wigan on the day that Dave Whelan took over. In
return for me, Halifax were supposed to be getting Neil Cowie, Martin
Hall and some cash, but part of the new Whelan regime included a bloke
called John Martin who was Neil Cowie’s father-in-law, and he put a
stopper on the deal.
Halifax turned another deal down for me. There was no Bosman rule at the
time so you couldn’t do what you wanted. The club put me on the transfer
list for what was, at the time, at world record fee of about £250,000
which was just ridiculous, [by doing that] they were basically telling
me that I wasn’t going anywhere.
I also spoke to Leeds Rhinos but turned them down and decided to stay at
Halifax for another three years.
You did eventually leave Halifax, ending up in a struggling Huddersfield
squad. What was that experience like?
It was fantastic season. I mean yeah, we got relegated so results wise
it wasn’t great, but I learned a lot in defeat. I also learned a lot
from Tony Smith [current Leeds Rhinos coach] who was coach there at the
time about coaching skills because I have coaching aspirations of my
own.
It was definitely a very valuable year in terms of me progressing as a
player, hopefully as a coach sometime and also as person. I learned some
valuable lessons in life that year.
You sound like you’ve given coaching some serious thought.
Yeah I have, certainly. I’m 31 now so it’s something I’m considering.
I’m fully qualified as a first grade coach and it’s definitely a route I
want to take.
From Huddersfield you moved back here to Leigh. How did that come about?
After we got relegated, Huddersfield were offering contracts to players,
but I always said that I didn’t want to play against Leigh [which would
have happened with the two teams now in the same league] so I felt that
if I was going to be in the same league as Leigh, I’d go home and play
there, which is just what happened.
Were you glad to be back?
Oh yeah. It just feels like home here, it’s my second home. Some of the
lads take the mickey, saying I’ll be here for life as the next grounds
man, washer-man or whatever, and then as a ghost here when I drop off.
Did you find the atmosphere had changed during your time away?
Not really. It’s one of those places where I can near enough put a name
to all the faces on the terraces. You walk in town and people stop and
talk to you about the game and what not, it’s all just very familiar.
Like I said, even when I was at Halifax I’d come down and interact with
the Leigh spectators, I think I’ve always had a good bond with the Leigh
supporters because I’ve always been on good terms with the club even
though I left under funny circumstances.
They needed to sell me to make money for the club so I did a good deed
for them but it was good for me as well, I won’t lie about that.
I’m happy to be back home now though.
A while later, Leigh made their way into the Super League. What was the
atmosphere like ahead of that season?
There was an air of uncertainty about the place. Most teams had their
pre-season camp away, and I always felt that we needed that because the
team had been totally transformed. People were still trying to get to
know each other and it took till probably half way through the season
before you realised who were going to be your close friends, who you
could trust and who you couldn’t. When your loosing it’s inevitable that
people start talking behind backs, you know, ‘it’s his fault’ or
whatever.
But I mean, the lads who were here were all good lads, and it was just
unfortunate that the winning aspect didn’t come.
It was a hard season. I’ve been in loosing seasons before both at
Huddersfield and at Leigh, and I enjoyed them more, but last season can
go down as a season I thoroughly did not enjoy.
What would you say was the main problem with the Super League season?
I think the club, the coaches and the players were all inexperienced.
There was a lack of professionalism, the club made bad signings, I think
all of us [the players] who were there should take some blame for not
playing to our full potential. The coaches, for me, weren’t up to
scratch, they created no atmosphere, people were paranoid and so on.
It’s a shame really because I think we had the potential to do much
better, but it just wasn’t to be.
Would you say that you yourself, and the team as a whole learned from
the experience?
Definitely yeah. We learned how to not do things from that experience. I
think there’s possibly only five players at the most from last season
who are still at the club so we’ll have took something out of that, and
I’m sure that the directors and officials at the club will have learned
as a club on different aspects of the game.
Plus, we’ve got a new coach so I think the club’s definitely going
forward.
Not so long ago you won the Northern Rail Cup, how did that feel?
It was good. When I left Leigh I was lucky enough that I was the
youngest captain in Leigh’s history and I’ve always wanted that
captaincy back. It took till this season to get it back and that meant I
got to lift the cup. That’s something I’ve dreamt of since I was very
young.
You know, I’ve played for England and I’ve played in the Super League,
but I think that lifting a cup for Leigh has been the highlight of my
career.
Has the win boosted the team’s confidence in terms of getting back to
the top and taking it to the next level?
I think it has, yeah. It’s showed that, OK, so Hull KR are the run away
leaders at the minute, but our win has boosted not just our confidence
but other teams’ confidence in terms of winning. It’s thrown open that
whole promotion race now and there’s a lot to play for.
There’s four teams in the running now and I think anyone of those teams
could do it.
How do you fancy Leigh’s chances?
I think we’ve certainly got a good chance. There’s only two cups to play
for in our league, and we’ve won one, so you know…
There’s a lot of Leigh players in other teams in National League 1 and
they don’t like to see us do well, so if I had a pound for everyone of
them who said we’d win nothing, I’d be a rich man already.
Would would be the ultimate achievement for you now for the rest of your
career?
If I could take Leigh into Super League, get some sort of coaching job
at this club and help them stay in Super League before progressing
slowly up the coaching ladder. I set my targets high but I like to take
slow but steady steps and I’d like to reach the pinnacle of a coaching
career.
What have been the biggest changes in Rugby League between today and
when you first started out?
The most obvious one is the change from winter to summer which is pretty
major.
Also, when I first started you knew that every team had probably one or
two players who were weak players, players you could run at and get
through, but these days it’s such a tough game that there’s no weak
spots.
The game’s faster, the players are bigger and it’s a lot more
professional. Teams are getting big athletes and teaching them to play
rugby, where as ten, twenty years ago it was rugby players who would
come up through the ranks. Now though you get the big guys who can run
the 100m in 11 seconds.
But I’ve been brought up on the saying ‘it’s not the size of the dog in
the fight it’s the size of the fight in the dog’, so I find away to get
round them.
Which Rugby players, past and present do you most look up to?
I was very interested in Australian rugby when I was younger. We didn’t
have Sky TV back then so it wasn’t as accessible, but you could get
videos and I used to enjoy watching a guy who played for Balmain called
Benny Elias. I kinda modelled my own game on him and tried to emulate
him, so I look up to him for the past.
As for the present, it would have to be [Paul takes his time, choosing
his answer carefully], I think someone like Stuart Fielden. He’s a fully
dedicated person who’s committed the cause and I think he’s reaping the
rewards of his hard work.
And finally, what advice would you give to young people looking to get
into Rugby League?
Well, I think everyone’s got strong points and everyone’s got attributes
that they’re good at and that they can use to their advantage. You know,
if you’re fast, work on that because speed is everything, but work on
other things as well so that you’re an all-round player.
It’s all about dedication, if you want it, you’ll get it. Don’t dream of
accomplishments, stay awake and do them, that’s what I say.
Recommended Links:
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www.leighrl.co.uk – Leigh Centurions
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